Copper tumbles 2.5% — short relief, long risk
Copper joined a broader commodities sell‑off and fell about 2.5% to $5.46/lb on March 19, offering a short window of relief for wire and conduit costs even as analysts warn structural supply tightness remains (cnbc.com). The dip looks tied to recession fears and oil‑price moves—so volatility, not a guaranteed downtrend, is the takeaway (economictimes.indiatimes.com).
LME-registered copper stocks rose by 18,775 tonnes to 330,375 tonnes this week, the highest level since September 2019. (tradingpedia.com) Speculative net‑long positions in copper fell by 284 lots to about 32,788 lots, the smallest bullish stance since October 2023. (tradingpedia.com) China’s SMM reported a week‑on‑week decline of 8.85% in regional copper inventories even as total Chinese stocks were up roughly 176,700 tonnes year‑on‑year. (news.metal.com) Front‑month COMEX copper futures were trading in the low $5.40s–$5.56s per pound with open interest near 2.8k contracts, reflecting active short‑dated positioning and intraday volatility. (google.com) Goldman Sachs has revised its copper outlook upward after mine disruptions including at Grasberg shifted 2025’s balance toward a deficit, and the bank’s longer‑run price view sits in the roughly $10,000–11,000/tonne range. (finance.yahoo.com) The futures curve shows higher pricing in late‑2026/2027 contracts (around $5.80–$5.90/lb), signalling market expectations of sustained higher input costs for copper‑intensive products like wire and conduit over the medium term. (google.com)
